More Vacation mixing

[ido1957]

Still super busy with chores but making time to revisit a few tunes - here's the latest.
Still a few spots I might play with but this is where I am so far mix-wise.
Not mastered, just a limiter for a bit of volume.

Google Play - Buy Now Pay Later.
Mix 1

Mix 2

[rayc]

I think the cymbals crowd the vocals a bit Gerry.
Other than that - cool.
The bass tone is pretty well sorted.

[ido1957]

Yeah - cymbals are pretty loud. I've used his stereo mix so I've tried eq, but they're still loud.
This was the one where they were "washy" on the last mix, I think that was MP3 somewhat so they are cleaner but still loud.
Any suggestions ?
I plan on mixing drums when I get a lot more time - up to now my results have been mediocre

[SweetDan]

I'm listening on headphones; nice tune...I recall you posted this a few months ago.

I skimmed through that older thread, in fact, to try to not re-hash any of the comments from before.

And...I failed. I'm going to re-hash... Sorry.

To my ears, the female (speaking) voice at 2:51 sounds out of place, which I know was covered in the old thread.

Maybe I can suggest a different angle -- put more contrast between the spoken part and the rest of the song. Up to that point, we've heard the verse/chorus a few times, and we listeners know how it goes. We're grooving along, and expect this chorus to go just like the last one...but you (as songwriter/arranger/performer) want that chorus, and that part of the chorus specifically, to stand out, right?

Some ideas to give it more contrast: mute the background vocals and guitars, leaving only the spoken vocal, plus bass and drums. Another idea: build up then stop all the other instruments/voices. You'll get contrast 1) because it's a female voice, and 2) it's spoken, not sung. It could work in the context of the rest of the song, though, because the build-up/drop/solo-voice would parallel the part where the lead vocal sings "Buy now! / Pay later!" The song and arrangement are already building up from 2:46-2:50; I as the listener just don't get enough drama (climax?) at the line "I've got a boyfriend!"

Anyway, my 2c. I envy how clean and well-put-together it all sounds.

---

(Listening again...) One thing I just realized about that vocal part is the middle of her phrase ("-friend, but you can") is much quieter than the rest; could you (generously) nudge those 3.5 words up volume-wise? not with compression, but with either automation or slicing out those phrases out of the track and pushing up the waveform? (Depending on what works best in your DAW, of course)

[JD01]

The cymbals stepping on the vocal doesn't bother me at all.
Vocals sound great - wish I could double track that well.

The only thing that bothers me is the kick, this isn't a real drummer is it? If it is, he's like a fucking machine! The kick sounds a little too mechanical to me and might be a little loud.

I still like the random spoken female voice and the way you change the effect on your lead vocal at the end.

[ido1957]

Thanks SD and JD - the girl vocal suggestions sound interesting - i.e. making it very sparse when she talks. I'll try fiddling with that, my initial thought is that it might be too stark, but you never know until you try. And yes those 3 last words need some automation.
The kick is all Jason, no machine haha, I've spent the bulk of the time remixing working on that. I actually got a new "drum mix" since the last time, with less kick but tbh it was still in need of some attention. I suppose I could ask him for a 3rd drum track

[ido1957]

New Mix 2 (also in OP) with some cymbal taming. The worst culprit seems to be that splash on the right which I think I found.

[JD01]

Morning mate, listening on my proper reference headphones this morning. This sounds great now I reckon, everything coming through clearly and nothing seems to be getting on the way of everything else. The splashes sound cool in this mix.

[rayc]

Gerry,.
That's much better - the splash is still more like a wave but much improved. I doubt, given the circumstances, that much more can be done with.

[ido1957]

Thanks Ray and JD - The cymbals in this one seem different sounding than Jason's other stuff. But, I'm assuming, like a lot of us, he tries new gear/mic positions/mixing ideas on an ongoing basis. No biggee, I hope this one can be put on the shelf for now. I have a few more I want to look at.

Back to work today after 3 weeks off (though worked my butt off on chores). Not sure if it will be busy or not, hopefully not as my brain is still in vacation mode.

[itsnotkcearl]

I think everything sounds great...great performance as per usual and as youre moving on with it I wont mention the cymbals

[paulman]

Guess I'm a little late to the game here if you're putting it on the shelf, but I'm just now getting some time to listen and comment on stuff. It sounds great overall, but I have something to add about the cymbals. That splash sounds like a china cymbal, which just seems out of place here. That's the only thing that stands out in a bad way to me about the cymbals, just that one occasional china crash sound that sticks out like a sore thumb. The tone more so than the volume. The rest seems fine, to my ears. Other than that, great performance and nice warm sound on everything.

[vomitHatSteve]

Might as well chime in here (I'm just back from vacation. Not a lot of wifi hotspots in Yellowknife)

The female vox sit a lot better in this one. They're kinda buried, but I think that's what you need here to get it to not stick out too much. (Short of getting her to somehow emulate your vocal style and track it the same number of times)

[WhiskeyJack]

Pffft, Mix 2 = Winner.

night and day difference in those mixes i think.

I do think the cymbals kind of have a really gated or fractured kind of sound to them in some places? like they sound like the sound just stop unnaturally. It could just be my ears trying really hard to hear something?

this song is great ido! liked it the first time i heard it. Still like it.

in Yellowknife

Seems like a very unorthadox holiday destination. You must have a family other signifigant someone there? or work. I have so many questions.

[vomitHatSteve]

Seems like a very unorthadox holiday destination. You must have a family other signifigant someone there? or work. I have so many questions.

Grandparents. Real frontier types. We just downgraded our annual wood-cutting trip to a fishing trip because 90 year old grandpa decided he's not quite up to the former any more!

[WhiskeyJack]

Seems like a very unorthadox holiday destination. You must have a family other signifigant someone there? or work. I have so many questions.

Grandparents. Real frontier types. We just downgraded our annual wood-cutting trip to a fishing trip because 90 year old grandpa decided he's not quite up to the former any more!

HA! that is awesome. I have not yet gotten that far north yet but it is my intent to go clear to the artic at some point.

Nice country up there i hear.

[Greg_L]

The drums are the weak link to this mix IMO. Not in performance. Whoever that is is getting down. The overheads sound trashy. Everything else sounds clean and in your face, the drums sound sort of distant and messy. If you can get the elements of the kit to punch on their own more, the whole thing would improve IMO.